New Discovery: Are These the Oldest Fossils Ever Found?

March 1, 2017 - Tiny tubes of iron-bearing minerals from northern Quebec in Canada may be fossils made by the earliest known life on Earth. Scientists from University College London have analyzed the rocks containing these structures and found chemical signatures indicating biological processes. Along with the structural complexity of the tubes, the chemical evidence suggests that these are the remains of very ancient microorganisms. The age of the rocks is controversial, but if the outside estimate is correct, and the samples are indeed fossils, they would be well over 4 billion years old. By implication, life would then have arisen even earlier, relatively soon after the formation of the planet. The findings would point to a higher likelihood of life on other worlds.
READ: New evidence suggests life on Earth may have arisen more than 4 billion years ago.

New Discovery: Are These the Oldest Fossils Ever Found?

March 1, 2017 - Tiny tubes of iron-bearing minerals from northern Quebec in Canada may be fossils made by the earliest known life on Earth. Scientists from University College London have analyzed the rocks containing these structures and found chemical signatures indicating biological processes. Along with the structural complexity of the tubes, the chemical evidence suggests that these are the remains of very ancient microorganisms. The age of the rocks is controversial, but if the outside estimate is correct, and the samples are indeed fossils, they would be well over 4 billion years old. By implication, life would then have arisen even earlier, relatively soon after the formation of the planet. The findings would point to a higher likelihood of life on other worlds.
READ: New evidence suggests life on Earth may have arisen more than 4 billion years ago.